II 

Calendar No. 53 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 99 

[Report No. 112–17] 

To promote the production of molybdenum-99 in the United States for medical isotope production, and to condition and phase out the export of 

highly enriched uranium for the production of medical isotopes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 25 (legislative day, JANUARY 5), 2011 

Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 

Natural Resources 

MAY 18, 2011 

Reported by Mr. BINGAMAN, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To promote the production of molybdenum-99 in the United 

States for medical isotope production, and to condition 

and phase out the export of highly enriched uranium 

for the production of medical isotopes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Medical Iso3 topes Production Act of 2011’’. 

4 SEC. 2. IMPROVING THE RELIABILITY OF DOMESTIC MED5 ICAL ISOTOPE SUPPLY. 

6 (a) MEDICAL ISOTOPE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy 

8 shall establish a technology-neutral program— 

9 (A) to evaluate and support projects for 

10 the production in the United States, without 

11 the use of highly enriched uranium, of signifi12 cant quantities of molybdenum-99 for medical 

13 uses; 

14 (B) to be carried out in cooperation with 

15 non-Federal entities; and 

16 (C) the costs of which shall be shared in 

17 accordance with section 988 of the Energy Pol18 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16352). 

19 (2) CRITERIA.—Projects shall be judged against 

20 the following primary criteria: 

21 (A) The length of time necessary for the 

22 proposed project to begin production of molyb23 denum-99 for medical uses within the United 

24 States. 

25 (B) The capability of the proposed project 

26 to produce a significant percentage of United 

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1 States demand for molybdenum-99 for medical 

2 uses. 

3 (C) The cost of the proposed project. 

4 (3) EXEMPTION.—An existing reactor fueled 

5 with highly enriched uranium shall not be disquali6 fied from the program if the Secretary of Energy de7 termines that— 

8 (A) there is no alternative nuclear reactor 

9 fuel, enriched in the isotope U–235 to less than 

10 20 percent, that can be used in that reactor; 

11 (B) the reactor operator has provided as12 surances that, whenever an alternative nuclear 

13 reactor fuel, enriched in the isotope U–235 to 

14 less than 20 percent, can be used in that reac15 tor, it will use that alternative in lieu of highly 

16 enriched uranium; and 

17 (C) the reactor operator has provided a 

18 current report on the status of its efforts to 

19 convert the reactor to an alternative nuclear re20 actor fuel enriched in the isotope U–235 to less 

21 than 20 percent, and an anticipated schedule 

22 for completion of conversion. 

23 (4) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND REVIEW.—The 

24 Secretary of Energy shall— 

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1 (A) develop a program plan and annually 

2 update the program plan through public work3 shops; and 

4 (B) use the Nuclear Science Advisory 

5 Committee to conduct annual reviews of the 

6 progress made in achieving the program goals. 

7 (5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

8 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec9 retary of Energy for carrying out the program under 

10 paragraph (1) $143,000,000 for the period encom11 passing fiscal years 2011 through 2014. 

12 (b) DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of 

13 Energy shall establish a program to provide assistance 

14 for— 

15 (1) the development of fuels, targets, and proc16 esses for domestic molybdenum-99 production that 

17 do not use highly enriched uranium; and 

18 (2) commercial operations using the fuels, tar19 gets, and processes described in paragraph (1). 

20 (c) URANIUM LEASE AND TAKE BACK.—The Sec21 retary of Energy shall establish a program to make low 

22 enriched uranium available, through lease contracts, for 

23 irradiation for the production of molybdenum-99 for med24 ical uses. The lease contracts shall provide for the Sec25 retary to retain responsibility for the final disposition of 

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1 radioactive waste created by the irradiation, processing, 

2 or purification of leased uranium. The lease contracts 

3 shall also provide for compensation in cash amounts equiv4 alent to prevailing market rates for the sale of comparable 

5 uranium products and for compensation in cash amounts 

6 equivalent to the net present value of the cost to the Fed7 eral Government for the final disposition of such radio8 active waste, provided that the discount rate used to deter9 mine the net present value of such costs shall be no great10 er than the average interest rate on marketable Treasury 

11 securities. The Secretary shall not barter or otherwise sell 

12 or transfer uranium in any form in exchange for services 

13 related to final disposition of the radioactive waste from 

14 such leased uranium. 

15 SEC. 3. EXPORTS. 

16 Section 134 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 

17 U.S.C. 2160d) is amended by striking subsections b. and 

18 c. and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 

19 ‘‘b. Effective 7 years after the date of enactment of 

20 the American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2011, 

21 the Commission may not issue a license for the export of 

22 highly enriched uranium from the United States for the 

23 purposes of medical isotope production. 

24 ‘‘c. The period referred to in subsection b. may be 

25 extended for no more than 6 years if, no earlier than 6 

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1 years after the date of enactment of the American Medical 

2 Isotopes Production Act of 2011, the Secretary of Energy 

3 certifies to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

4 the House of Representatives and the Committee on En5 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate that— 

6 ‘‘(1) there is insufficient global supply of molyb7 denum-99 produced without the use of highly en8 riched uranium available to satisfy the domestic 

9 United States market; and 

10 ‘‘(2) the export of United States-origin highly 

11 enriched uranium for the purposes of medical iso12 tope production is the most effective temporary 

13 means to increase the supply of molybdenum-99 to 

14 the domestic United States market. 

15 ‘‘d. To ensure public review and comment, the devel16 opment of the certification described in subsection c. shall 

17 be carried out through announcement in the Federal Reg18 ister. 

19 ‘‘e. At any time after the restriction of export licenses 

20 provided for in subsection b. becomes effective, if there 

21 is a critical shortage in the supply of molybdenum-99 

22 available to satisfy the domestic United States medical iso23 tope needs, the restriction of export licenses may be sus24 pended for a period of no more than 12 months, if— 

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1 ‘‘(1) the Secretary of Energy certifies to the 

2 Congress that the export of United States-origin 

3 highly enriched uranium for the purposes of medical 

4 isotope production is the only effective temporary 

5 means to increase the supply of molybdenum-99 nec6 essary to meet United States medical isotope needs 

7 during that period; and 

8 ‘‘(2) the Congress enacts a Joint Resolution ap9 proving the temporary suspension of the restriction 

10 of export licenses. 

11 ‘‘f. As used in this section— 

12 ‘‘(1) the term ‘alternative nuclear reactor fuel 

13 or target’ means a nuclear reactor fuel or target 

14 which is enriched to less than 20 percent in the iso15 tope U–235; 

16 ‘‘(2) the term ‘highly enriched uranium’ means 

17 uranium enriched to 20 percent or more in the iso18 tope U–235; 

19 ‘‘(3) a fuel or target ‘can be used’ in a nuclear 

20 research or test reactor if— 

21 ‘‘(A) the fuel or target has been qualified 

22 by the Reduced Enrichment Research and Test 

23 Reactor Program of the Department of Energy; 

24 and 

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1 ‘‘(B) use of the fuel or target will permit 

2 the large majority of ongoing and planned ex3 periments and isotope production to be con4 ducted in the reactor without a large percentage 

5 increase in the total cost of operating the reac6 tor; and 

7 ‘‘(4) the term ‘medical isotope’ includes molyb8 denum-99, iodine-131, xenon-133, and other radio9 active materials used to produce a radiopharma10 ceutical for diagnostic, therapeutic procedures or for 

11 research and development.’’. 

12 SEC. 4. REPORT ON DISPOSITION OF EXPORTS. 

13 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act, the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Com15 mission, after consulting with other relevant agencies, 

16 shall submit to the Congress a report detailing the current 

17 disposition of previous United States exports of highly en18 riched uranium, including— 

19 (1) their location; 

20 (2) whether they are irradiated; 

21 (3) whether they have been used for the pur22 pose stated in their export license; 

23 (4) whether they have been used for an alter24 native purpose and, if so, whether such alternative 

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1 purpose has been explicitly approved by the Commis2 sion; 

3 (5) the year of export, and reimportation, if ap4 plicable; 

5 (6) their current physical and chemical forms; 

6 and 

7 (7) whether they are being stored in a manner 

8 which adequately protects against theft and unau9 thorized access. 

10 SEC. 5. DOMESTIC MEDICAL ISOTOPE PRODUCTION. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 10 of the Atomic Energy 

12 Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) is amended by add13 ing at the end the following new section: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 112. DOMESTIC MEDICAL ISOTOPE PRODUC15 TION.— a. The Commission may issue a license, or grant 

16 an amendment to an existing license, for the use in the 

17 United States of highly enriched uranium as a target for 

18 medical isotope production in a nuclear reactor, only if, 

19 in addition to any other requirement of this Act— 

20 ‘‘(1) the Commission determines that— 

21 ‘‘(A) there is no alternative medical isotope 

22 production target, enriched in the isotope U– 

23 235 to less than 20 percent, that can be used 

24 in that reactor; and 

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1 ‘‘(B) the proposed recipient of the medical 

2 isotope production target has provided assur3 ances that, whenever an alternative medical iso4 tope production target can be used in that reac5 tor, it will use that alternative in lieu of highly 

6 enriched uranium; and 

7 ‘‘(2) the Secretary of Energy has certified that 

8 the United States Government is actively supporting 

9 the development of an alternative medical isotope 

10 production target that can be used in that reactor. 

11 ‘‘b. As used in this section— 

12 ‘‘(1) the term ‘alternative medical isotope pro13 duction target’ means a nuclear reactor target which 

14 is enriched to less than 20 percent of the isotope U– 

15 235; 

16 ‘‘(2) a target ‘can be used’ in a nuclear re17 search or test reactor if— 

18 ‘‘(A) the target has been qualified by the 

19 Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Reac20 tor Program of the Department of Energy; and 

21 ‘‘(B) use of the target will permit the large 

22 majority of ongoing and planned experiments 

23 and isotope production to be conducted in the 

24 reactor without a large percentage increase in 

25 the total cost of operating the reactor; 

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1 ‘‘(3) the term ‘highly enriched uranium’ means 

2 uranium enriched to 20 percent or more in the iso3 tope U–235; and 

4 ‘‘(4) the term ‘medical isotope’ includes molyb5 denum-99, iodine-131, xenon-133, and other radio6 active materials used to produce a radiopharma7 ceutical for diagnostic, therapeutic procedures or for 

8 research and development.’’. 

9 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

10 the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 is amended by inserting 

11 the following new item at the end of the items relating 

12 to chapter 10 of title I: 

‘‘Sec. 112. Domestic medical isotope production.’’. 

13 SEC. 6. ANNUAL DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY REPORTS. 

14 The Secretary of Energy shall report to Congress no 

15 later than one year after the date of enactment of this 

16 Act, and annually thereafter for 5 years, on Department 

17 of Energy actions to support the production in the United 

18 States, without the use of highly enriched uranium, of mo19 lybdenum-99 for medical uses. These reports shall include 

20 the following: 

21 (1) For medical isotope development projects— 

22 (A) the names of any recipients of Depart23 ment of Energy support under section 2 of this 

24 Act; 

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1 (B) the amount of Department of Energy 

2 funding committed to each project; 

3 (C) the milestones expected to be reached 

4 for each project during the year for which sup5 port is provided; 

6 (D) how each project is expected to sup7 port the increased production of molybdenum8 99 for medical uses; 

9 (E) the findings of the evaluation of 

10 projects under section 2(a)(2) of this Act; and 

11 (F) the ultimate use of any Department of 

12 Energy funds used to support projects under 

13 section 2 of this Act. 

14 (2) A description of actions taken in the pre15 vious year by the Secretary of Energy to ensure the 

16 safe disposition of radioactive waste from used mo17 lybdenum-99 targets. 

18 SEC. 7. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES REPORT. 

19 The Secretary of Energy shall enter into an arrange20 ment with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct 

21 a study of the state of molybdenum-99 production and uti22 lization, to be provided to the Congress not later than 5 

23 years after the date of enactment of this Act. This report 

24 shall include the following: 

25 (1) For molybdenum-99 production— 

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1 (A) a list of all facilities in the world pro2 ducing molybdenum-99 for medical uses, includ3 ing an indication of whether these facilities use 

4 highly enriched uranium in any way; 

5 (B) a review of international production of 

6 molybdenum-99 over the previous 5 years, in7 cluding— 

8 (i) whether any new production was 

9 brought online; 

10 (ii) whether any facilities halted pro11 duction unexpectedly; and 

12 (iii) whether any facilities used for 

13 production were decommissioned or other14 wise permanently removed from service; 

15 and 

16 (C) an assessment of progress made in the 

17 previous 5 years toward establishing domestic 

18 production of molybdenum-99 for medical uses, 

19 including the extent to which other medical iso20 topes that have been produced with molyb21 denum-99, such as iodine-131 and xenon-133, 

22 are being used for medical purposes. 

23 (2) An assessment of the progress made by the 

24 Department of Energy and others to eliminate all 

25 worldwide use of highly enriched uranium in reactor 

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1 fuel, reactor targets, and medical isotope production 

2 facilities. 

3 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act the following definitions apply: 

5 (1) HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM.—The term 

6 ‘‘highly enriched uranium’’ means uranium enriched 

7 to 20 percent or greater in the isotope U–235. 

8 (2) LOW ENRICHED URANIUM.—The term ‘‘low 

9 enriched uranium’’ means uranium enriched to less 

10 than 20 percent in the isotope U–235. 

11 SEC. 9. BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

12 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

13 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

14 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

15 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

16 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

17 by the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, pro18 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

19 vote on passage. 

20 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

21 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Medical Iso22 topes Production Act of 2011’’. 

23 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 

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1 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

2 means the Department of Energy. 

3 (2) HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM.—The term 

4 ‘‘highly enriched uranium’’ means uranium enriched 

5 to 20 percent or greater in the isotope U-235. 

6 (3) LOW ENRICHED URANIUM.—The term ‘‘low 

7 enriched uranium’’ means uranium enriched to less 

8 than 20 percent in the isotope U-235. 

9 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

10 the Secretary of Energy. 

11 SEC. 3. IMPROVING THE RELIABILITY OF DOMESTIC MED12 ICAL ISOTOPE SUPPLY. 

13 (a) MEDICAL ISOTOPE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

15 a technology-neutral program— 

16 (A) to evaluate and support projects for the 

17 production in the United States, without the use 

18 of highly enriched uranium, of significant quan19 tities of molybdenum-99 for medical uses; 

20 (B) to be carried out in cooperation with 

21 non-Federal entities; and 

22 (C) the costs of which shall be shared in ac23 cordance with section 988 of the Energy Policy 

24 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16352). 

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1 (2) CRITERIA.—Projects shall be judged against 

2 the following primary criteria: 

3 (A) The length of time necessary for the pro4 posed project to begin production of molyb5 denum-99 for medical uses within the United 

6 States. 

7 (B) The capability of the proposed project 

8 to produce a significant percentage of United 

9 States demand for molybdenum-99 for medical 

10 uses. 

11 (C) The cost of the proposed project. 

12 (3) EXEMPTION.—An existing reactor in the 

13 United States fueled with highly enriched uranium 

14 shall not be disqualified from the program if the Sec15 retary determines that— 

16 (A) there is no alternative nuclear reactor 

17 fuel, enriched in the isotope U-235 to less than 

18 20 percent, that can be used in that reactor; 

19 (B) the reactor operator has provided assur20 ances that, whenever an alternative nuclear reac21 tor fuel, enriched in the isotope U-235 to less 

22 than 20 percent, can be used in that reactor, it 

23 will use that alternative in lieu of highly en24 riched uranium; and 

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1 (C) the reactor operator has provided a cur2 rent report on the status of its efforts to convert 

3 the reactor to an alternative nuclear reactor fuel 

4 enriched in the isotope U-235 to less than 20 

5 percent, and an anticipated schedule for comple6 tion of conversion. 

7 (4) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND REVIEW.—The 

8 Secretary shall— 

9 (A) develop a program plan and annually 

10 update the program plan through public work11 shops; and 

12 (B) use the Nuclear Science Advisory Com13 mittee to conduct annual reviews of the progress 

14 made in achieving the program goals. 

15 (5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

16 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec17 retary for carrying out the program under paragraph 

18 (1) $143,000,000 for the period encompassing fiscal 

19 years 2011 through 2014. 

20 (b) DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

21 establish a program to provide assistance for— 

22 (1) the development of fuels, targets, and proc23 esses for domestic molybdenum-99 production that do 

24 not use highly enriched uranium; and 

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1 (2) commercial operations using the fuels, tar2 gets, and processes described in paragraph (1). 

3 (c) URANIUM LEASE AND TAKE-BACK.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

5 a program to make low-enriched uranium available, 

6 through lease contracts, for irradiation for the pro7 duction of molybdenum-99 for medical uses. 

8 (2) TITLE.—The lease contracts shall provide for 

9 the producers of the molybdenum-99 to take title to 

10 and be responsible for the molybdenum-99 created by 

11 the irradiation, processing, or purification of ura12 nium leased under this section. 

13 (3) DUTIES.— 

14 (A) SECRETARY.—The lease contracts shall 

15 require the Secretary— 

16 (i) to retain responsibility for the final 

17 disposition of spent nuclear fuel created by 

18 the irradiation, processing, or purification 

19 of uranium leased under this section for the 

20 production of medical isotopes; and 

21 (ii) to take title to and be responsible 

22 for the final disposition of radioactive waste 

23 created by the irradiation, processing, or 

24 purification of uranium leased under this 

25 section for which the Secretary determines 

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1 the producer does not have access to a dis2 posal path. 

3 (B) PRODUCER.—The producer of the spent 

4 nuclear fuel and radioactive waste shall accu5 rately characterize, appropriately package, and 

6 transport the spent nuclear fuel and radioactive 

7 waste prior to acceptance by the Department. 

8 (4) COMPENSATION.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subparagraph 

10 (B), the lease contracts shall provide for com11 pensation in cash amounts equivalent to pre12 vailing market rates for the sale of comparable 

13 uranium products and for compensation in cash 

14 amounts equivalent to the net present value of 

15 the cost to the Federal Government for— 

16 (i) the final disposition of spent nu17 clear fuel and radioactive waste for which 

18 the Department is responsible under para19 graph (3); and 

20 (ii) other costs associated with car21 rying out the uranium lease and take-back 

22 program authorized by this subsection. 

23 (B) DISCOUNT RATE.—The discount rate 

24 used to determine the net present value of costs 

25 described in subparagraph (A)(ii) shall be not 

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1 greater than the average interest rate on market2 able Treasury securities. 

3 (5) AUTHORIZED USE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary 

4 may obligate and expend funds received under leases 

5 entered into under this subsection, which shall remain 

6 available until expended, for the purpose of carrying 

7 out the activities authorized by this Act, including ac8 tivities related to the final disposition of spent nu9 clear fuel and radioactive waste for which the Depart10 ment is responsible under paragraph (3). 

11 (6) EXCHANGE OF URANIUM FOR SERVICES.— 

12 The Secretary shall not barter or otherwise sell or 

13 transfer uranium in any form in exchange for— 

14 (A) services related to the final disposition 

15 of the spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste 

16 for which the Department is responsible under 

17 paragraph (3); or 

18 (B) any other services associated with car19 rying out the uranium lease and take-back pro20 gram authorized by this subsection. 

21 (d) COORDINATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS.— 

22 The Department and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

23 shall ensure to the maximum extent practicable that envi24 ronmental reviews for the production of the medical isotopes 

25 shall complement and not duplicate each review. 

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1 (e) OPERATIONAL DATE.—The Secretary shall estab2 lish a program as described in subsection (c)(3) not later 

3 than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 (f) RADIOACTIVE WASTE.—Notwithstanding section 2 

5 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101), 

6 radioactive material resulting from the production of med7 ical isotopes that has been permanently removed from a re8 actor or subcritical assembly and for which there is no fur9 ther use shall be considered low-level radioactive waste if 

10 the material is acceptable under Federal requirements for 

11 disposal as low-level radioactive waste. 

12 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

13 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $5,000,000 

14 for the establishment of a program for the final disposition 

15 of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste for which the 

16 Department is responsible under subsection (c). 

17 SEC. 4. EXPORTS. 

18 Section 134 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 

19 U.S.C. 2160d) is amended by striking subsection c. and in20 serting the following: 

21 ‘‘c. Effective 7 years after the date of enactment of the 

22 American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2011, the 

23 Commission may not issue a license for the export of highly 

24 enriched uranium from the United States for the purposes 

25 of medical isotope production. 

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1 ‘‘d. The period referred to in subsection b. may be ex2 tended for no more than 6 years if, no earlier than 6 years 

3 after the date of enactment of the American Medical Iso4 topes Production Act of 2011, the Secretary of Energy cer5 tifies to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

6 House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 

7 Natural Resources of the Senate that— 

8 ‘‘(1) there is insufficient global supply of molyb9 denum-99 produced without the use of highly enriched 

10 uranium available to satisfy the domestic United 

11 States market; and 

12 ‘‘(2) the export of United States-origin highly en13 riched uranium for the purposes of medical isotope 

14 production is the most effective temporary means to 

15 increase the supply of molybdenum-99 to the domestic 

16 United States market. 

17 ‘‘e. To ensure public review and comment, the develop18 ment of the certification described in subsection c. shall be 

19 carried out through announcement in the Federal Register. 

20 ‘‘f. At any time after the restriction of export licenses 

21 provided for in subsection b. becomes effective, if there is 

22 a critical shortage in the supply of molybdenum-99 avail23 able to satisfy the domestic United States medical isotope 

24 needs, the restriction of export licenses may be suspended 

25 for a period of no more than 12 months, if— 

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1 ‘‘(1) the Secretary of Energy certifies to the Con2 gress that the export of United States-origin highly 

3 enriched uranium for the purposes of medical isotope 

4 production is the only effective temporary means to 

5 increase the supply of molybdenum-99 necessary to 

6 meet United States medical isotope needs during that 

7 period; and 

8 ‘‘(2) the Congress enacts a Joint Resolution ap9 proving the temporary suspension of the restriction of 

10 export licenses. 

11 ‘‘g. As used in this section— 

12 ‘‘(1) the term ‘alternative nuclear reactor fuel or 

13 target’ means a nuclear reactor fuel or target which 

14 is enriched to less than 20 percent in the isotope U15 235; 

16 ‘‘(2) the term ‘highly enriched uranium’ means 

17 uranium enriched to 20 percent or more in the iso18 tope U-235; 

19 ‘‘(3) a fuel or target ‘can be used’ in a nuclear 

20 research or test reactor if— 

21 ‘‘(A) the fuel or target has been qualified by 

22 the Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Re23 actor Program of the Department of Energy; and 

24 ‘‘(B) use of the fuel or target will permit the 

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1 ments and medical isotope production to be con2 ducted in the reactor without a large percentage 

3 increase in the total cost of operating the reactor; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(4) the term ‘medical isotope’ includes molyb6 denum-99, iodine-131, xenon-133, and other radio7 active materials used to produce a radiopharma8 ceutical for diagnostic or therapeutic procedures or 

9 for research and development.’’. 

10 SEC. 5. REPORT ON DISPOSITION OF EXPORTS. 

11 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

12 of this Act, the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Com13 mission, after consulting with other relevant agencies, shall 

14 submit to the Congress a report detailing the current dis15 position of previous United States exports of highly en16 riched uranium used as fuel or targets in a nuclear research 

17 or test reactor, including— 

18 (1) their location; 

19 (2) whether they are irradiated; 

20 (3) whether they have been used for the purpose 

21 stated in their export license; 

22 (4) whether they have been used for an alter23 native purpose and, if so, whether such alternative 

24 purpose has been explicitly approved by the Commis25 sion; 

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1 (5) the year of export, and reimportation, if ap2 plicable; 

3 (6) their current physical and chemical forms; 

4 and 

5 (7) whether they are being stored in a manner 

6 which adequately protects against theft and unauthor7 ized access. 

8 SEC. 6. DOMESTIC MEDICAL ISOTOPE PRODUCTION. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 10 of the Atomic Energy 

10 Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) is amended by adding 

11 at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 112. DOMESTIC MEDICAL ISOTOPE PRODUC13 TION.— a. The Commission may issue a license, or grant 

14 an amendment to an existing license, for the use in the 

15 United States of highly enriched uranium as a target for 

16 medical isotope production in a nuclear reactor, only if, 

17 in addition to any other requirement of this Act— 

18 ‘‘(1) the Commission determines that— 

19 ‘‘(A) there is no alternative medical isotope 

20 production target, enriched in the isotope U-235 

21 to less than 20 percent, that can be used in that 

22 reactor; and 

23 ‘‘(B) the proposed recipient of the medical 

24 isotope production target has provided assur25 ances that, whenever an alternative medical isomstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tope production target can be used in that reac2 tor, it will use that alternative in lieu of highly 

3 enriched uranium; and 

4 ‘‘(2) the Secretary of Energy has certified that 

5 the United States Government is actively supporting 

6 the development of an alternative medical isotope pro7 duction target that can be used in that reactor. 

8 ‘‘b. As used in this section— 

9 ‘‘(1) the term ‘alternative medical isotope pro10 duction target’ means a nuclear reactor target which 

11 is enriched to less than 20 percent of the isotope U12 235; 

13 ‘‘(2) a target ‘can be used’ in a nuclear research 

14 or test reactor if— 

15 ‘‘(A) the target has been qualified by the Re16 duced Enrichment Research and Test Reactor 

17 Program of the Department of Energy; and 

18 ‘‘(B) use of the target will permit the large 

19 majority of ongoing and planned experiments 

20 and medical isotope production to be conducted 

21 in the reactor without a large percentage in22 crease in the total cost of operating the reactor; 

23 ‘‘(3) the term ‘highly enriched uranium’ means 

24 uranium enriched to 20 percent or more in the iso25 tope U-235; and 

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1 ‘‘(4) the term ‘medical isotope’ includes molyb2 denum-99, iodine-131, xenon-133, and other radio3 active materials used to produce a radiopharma4 ceutical for diagnostic or therapeutic procedures or 

5 for research and development.’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 is amended by inserting 

8 the following new item at the end of the items relating to 

9 chapter 10 of title I: 

‘‘Sec. 112. Domestic medical isotope production.’’. 

10 SEC. 7. ANNUAL DEPARTMENT REPORTS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

12 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 5 

13 years, the Secretary shall report to Congress on Department 

14 actions to support the production in the United States, 

15 without the use of highly enriched uranium, of molyb16 denum-99 for medical uses. 

17 (b) CONTENTS.—The reports shall include the fol18 lowing: 

19 (1) For medical isotope development projects— 

20 (A) the names of any recipients of Depart21 ment support under section 3; 

22 (B) the amount of Department funding 

23 committed to each project; 

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1 (C) the milestones expected to be reached for 

2 each project during the year for which support 

3 is provided; 

4 (D) how each project is expected to support 

5 the increased production of molybdenum-99 for 

6 medical uses; 

7 (E) the findings of the evaluation of projects 

8 under section 3(a)(2); and 

9 (F) the ultimate use of any Department 

10 funds used to support projects under section 3. 

11 (2) A description of actions taken in the previous 

12 year by the Secretary to ensure the safe disposition of 

13 spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste for which the 

14 Department is responsible under section 3(c). 

15 SEC. 8. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES REPORT. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter into an 

17 arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to con18 duct a study of the state of molybdenum-99 production and 

19 utilization, to be provided to Congress not later than 5 

20 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

21 (b) CONTENTS.—The report shall include the following: 

22 (1) For molybdenum-99 production— 

23 (A) a list of all facilities in the world pro24 ducing molybdenum-99 for medical uses, includmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ing an indication of whether these facilities use 

2 highly enriched uranium in any way; 

3 (B) a review of international production of 

4 molybdenum-99 over the previous 5 years, in5 cluding— 

6 (i) whether any new production was 

7 brought online; 

8 (ii) whether any facilities halted pro9 duction unexpectedly; and 

10 (iii) whether any facilities used for 

11 production were decommissioned or other12 wise permanently removed from service; and 

13 (C) an assessment of progress made in the 

14 previous 5 years toward establishing domestic 

15 production of molybdenum-99 for medical uses, 

16 including the extent to which other medical iso17 topes that have been produced with molybdenum18 99, such as iodine-131 and xenon-133, are being 

19 used for medical purposes. 

20 (2) An assessment of the progress made by the 

21 Department and others to eliminate all worldwide use 

22 of highly enriched uranium in reactor fuel, reactor 

23 targets, and medical isotope production facilities. 

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1 SEC. 9. BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

2 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

3 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go-Act of 2010, 

4 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement titled 

5 ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this Act, 

6 submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the 

7 Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, provided that 

8 such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on pas9 sage. 

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Calendar No. 53 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 99 

[Report No. 112–17] 

A BILL 

To promote the production of molybdenum-99 in 

medical isotopes. highly enriched uranium for the production of and to condition and phase out the export of the United States for medical isotope production, 

MAY 18, 2011 

Reported with an amendment 

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